Shoji Kokami is a Japanese playwright, director, actor, and film producer. Born in Ehime Prefecture in August 1958, Shoji has built a successful career in entertainment. In addition, he has been an important promoter of the cool japana program of the NHK World Japan that seeks to expand Japanese culture by exposing it abroad.
Being a promoter of Japanese culture and a great movie personality, Shoji Kokami has certain dynamics where he gives advice to an audience, and a long letter drew attention after being published in a recent article published by the media Asahi Shimbun Publications. Let’s review:
«I am a 53 year old man who is incapable of being nice because he still holds a grudge against his mother for throwing away his anime stuff without his permission when he was in high school. “I’ve been an anime fan since I can remember in elementary school, basically I love animation and I can spend hours of the day just watching anime. When I was young, I was quite excited that I had saved enough money to buy my records and figures, but my mother hated my hobbies. She kept telling me: ‘Those kinds of hobbies make other people feel sorry, so stop right now.’ And I would respond by saying, ‘I’m using my own money and my earnings from my part-time job, so it’s my problem.’”
«And continued: “One day during my sophomore year of high school, my family made the decision to move. I carefully wrapped my figures and packed my anime videos using bubble wrap. However, when we got to the new house, my stuff was gone. When I asked my mother, she replied, ‘You have entrance exams next year, now is not the time for you to get caught up in those hobbies.’ Even my father thought that was too much, and said, ‘Throwing away his things was not the right thing to do,’ but she replied: ‘With those kinds of hobbies you can’t have relationships with real women’“».
«He continued: “I was totally shocked, and at that moment I almost lost my mind with sadness and anger. After that, he did not speak to my family again for three months. I am currently 53 years old, married and have a good life with my wife. My anime love didn’t go away like my mother wanted, and my wife loves anime tooso I buy merchandise of the things we like to decorate our room. On the other hand, my parents are old and housed in a nursing home. But I can’t let go of the grudge I hold against my mother even to this day, from when she threw away all the things I had worked so hard to get.“».
«Even to this day, when I look back on those days, an intense rage comes over me as if I’m experiencing it all over again. No matter what I do, I can’t be nice to my parents, and I don’t even like to visit my old home. My mother dismisses me as an ungrateful son, but I think I’m more of a vindictive person. I’m actually tired of resenting them and I want to think about the future. How can I get rid of this old resentment towards my parents? Kokami-san, please lend me your wisdom.».
If you are curious about the answer that the filmmaker gave it, in short he asked the subject if he has been honest with his mother. That is, if he has confessed that he still holds a grudge against you for what happened in the past. He also asked him, when he does it, to ask him properly, why he did it. Given all the answers, if you can’t let go of that grudge even with that, your hatred may have “taken root” and you’ll probably take it with you to the grave. This could even happen if their mother offers an apology, but the subject feels that it is not enough. The only way to get rid of something negative is that, removing it from the body.
Fountain: Asahi Shimbun Publications
The entry A guy has hated his mother since she threw away his anime stuff was first published on Kudasai.
